The present invention relates generally to agricultural implements and, more particularly, to a marker assembly for use with an agricultural implement and having a caster wheel.
Agricultural seeders, which are commonly used to deposit seed, fertilizer, and granular chemicals onto a farm field, generally consist of a towable frame that supports one or more rows of seed units. Seed or other granular product is typically metered to the seed units which in turn deposit the product onto the farm field. The seeder will often include furrowing opening devices, such as coulters, knives, shanks, and the like that cut a furrow into the farm field immediately ahead of the seed units so that the granular product is deposited into a furrow rather than simply atop the farm field. A trailing packer will then pack the furrow to improve germination and/or fertilization.
Agricultural seeders are also commonly outfitted with a pair of marker assemblies. Each marker assembly will generally include a marker frame which carries a marking disc. A seeder will typically have a marker frame extending laterally on opposite sides of the seeder, and the marker frames can be independently raised and lowered by a respective lift assembly, such as a hydraulic cylinder. The marker frame is typically supported on the surface by a marker wheel and the marking disc which is spaced along the frame from the marker wheel. The marking disc is designed to cut a furrow into the farm field which serves as a marker as to the position of the seeder as the field was passed. Thus, during a subsequent pass of the farm field, the operator can position the seeder so that the next pass is properly aligned with the previous seeding pass to prevent overseeding of a previously seeded area or to prevent undesirable gaps in the seeded rows. Improper uniformity in spacing of the rows as well as distribution of the seed can negatively impact crop yields.
Increasingly there is a desire for a foldable marker assembly that can be retracted to a folded, stow position and then extended to a working position. During deployment from the stow position to the extended position, the marker wheel will engage the surface and be pushed laterally away from the agricultural implement. This can create undesirable loading of the marker wheel since the marker wheel is designed to rotate as the implement moves in either a forward or reverse direction. Thus, during deployment, the marker wheel will scrub rather than roll along the surface. Similar loading can occur when the implement is towed along a radius, such as during a turnaround to make another pass along the surface.
Therefore, there is a need for a marker assembly having a marker wheel that does not scrub along the surface during marker assembly deployment or other traveling conditions that may otherwise result in the marker wheel scrubbing along the surface.